Blanket
by ReoPlusOne
Summary: Ike pressed a hand under Soren’s chin and examined his face for a moment, the smaller male shrinking away subconsciously. IkeSoren, romance, general


This is a tradefic with weighed and measured, who is seriously amazing. Here you go!

* * *

They had been marching through the snow for months, and Soren was convinced that they were going nowhere.

He, Ike, and Titania all were in the strategist's tent, seeing as it was much more orderly than Ike's and the thought of going into a woman's tent and possibly seeing bloody panties disgusted both the men more than they thought possible. Titania paced, Ike was sprawled on the cot as he pondered, and Soren was busy writing battle plans and then subsequently scribbling them out. He felt a presence at his side and didn't bother looking up, working on an interesting pincer-like manouver.

"Soren, are you cold?"

The mage shook his head but continued writing. It was a lie; he was freezing, but he couldn't stand the thought of being fussed over.

"You look cold."

"I am not."

Ike pressed a hand under Soren's chin and examined his face for a moment, the smaller male shrinking away subconsciously. "Your lips are as blue as my hair, come on." With that, he tugged Soren's sleeve gently, urging him to leave his post and go lie down.

"I'm alright."

"No you aren't, at least rest a little."

"I will not! I am busy with this strategy and -"

"Soren, you should probably listen to him. It's Ike; you know what he could do to you if he wanted." Titania shot Ike a look, which he didn't seem to understand for a moment.

"I – oh, right, yep. I could give you a pretty hefty beating; you might just want to give up."

Soren simply stared. "I'm not going to lie down, I have work to do." Swiftly and calmly, Ike scooped the mage up and set him on his cot, to which Soren didn't object, knowing better than to try and remove an idea from his commander's mind once it was in there.

Ike glanced around for a blanket, and, when he didn't find any, turned to Titania. As if giving an order to a minor subordinate, he asked her to watch Soren and keep him there until he returned. She nodded, and he left.

"You shouldn't do that," The paladin warned.

"I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary."

"You're making Ike worry. Of all people, shouldn't you care the most about keeping him happy?"

"I'd rather make him happy by winning a battle than by lounging in bed all day, thank you."

"He isn't asking that you lounge in bed, he's asking that you take care of yourself."

"There isn't time."

"There's plenty of time, Soren, just calm down, will you?" She left as Ike returned, her dismissal sentence sounding especially smug.

Ike sat beside him and set a heavy brown quilt over him. Soren recognized it immediately and almost gasped. "I-Ike!"

"Hmm?"

"That's…" Your mother's, he meant to say. She had made it for him long ago, the simple patterns woven into it very distinct and lovely. They seemed to appear as a different shape to everyone, as Boyd saw an axe, Mist saw a flower, and Oscar saw a dish. Ike and Soren were the only ones who wouldn't speak about what they saw in the finely woven white shapes, for it was a deep secret, one that each of them carried alone.

"Yeah, mom's blanket." Ike looked down at it fondly. "Warm, right?"

Soren settled into the cot and pulled the cloth a little closer to himself. "Well… yes…" The last time he had been under this blanket was when they were children. He closed his eyes and sighed softly.

"How many times have I told you not to overwork yourself?"

"How many times have I told you the same thing?" Soren countered.

"I can't afford to have my best strategist out sick, you know."

"You're only saying that to get me to listen."

"Okay, I can't afford to have my best friend out sick, then."

"You're only saying that to flatter me."

"Soren, have you _ever_ known me to flatter people?"

"… No."

"Mhm. So relax and sleep a little."

"Okay, you win."

"Good. I'll be in the next tent over, take good care of the blanket for me." Ike paused. "Well, there really isn't much more you can do to it, it's been to hell and back," He gestured to the various stains that mottled the thick wool. "But at least let it take care of you, okay?"

"Is that an order?"

"Yes."

"Then I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"That's exactly right."

"Goodnight then."

"Night."

Ike left and Soren reached over to turn off the lamp. In the moonlight, he looked down at the quilt's surface, smiling ever so slightly as Ike's face stared back at him. To be honest, he felt much warmer, but it wasn't because of the blanket.


End file.
